![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Phillipa on May 6, 2013, at 11:51:18
Seems a lot of conflicting messages here of late. But I see more and more that a pill cannot solve life problems. More & more people seem to be relying on pills instead of tackling life head on. Any thoughts on this?
Posted by Meatwood_Flack on May 6, 2013, at 12:38:27
In reply to Life Problems Meds Don't Fix But Do They Help, posted by Phillipa on May 6, 2013, at 11:51:18
It's hard to make tackles when you're paralyzed.
Posted by Tomatheus on May 6, 2013, at 15:20:43
In reply to Life Problems Meds Don't Fix But Do They Help, posted by Phillipa on May 6, 2013, at 11:51:18
Phillipa,
I don't think that pills have ever had the capacity to solve life problems, and I don't think I've ever come across anyone who's seriously suggested that they can. It seems that whenever the issue of whether pills can solve life problems comes up, it's from those saying that they can't with the idea that some seem to think that they can.
Here are some things that I think that pills can do:
* increase energy
* boost focus and concentration
* reduce feelings of tension, agitation, and/or irritability
* reduce or eliminate hallucinations and/or other perceptual disturbances
* promote feelings of calmness and/or tranquility, especially when feelings of overstimulation and/or mania are presentThe list that I just put together is, of course, far from exhaustive, but I think that all of the things that I listed are things that most would agree that pills can realistically do. I think that some would also agree that when pills do what they can be realistically expected to do that it becomes a lot easier for people to take on and conquer the problems in their lives. An extreme example of this would involve individuals who felt too impaired to work before being treated with pills regaining the ability to work and actually going back to do it after starting treatment. It happens with pills that treat non-psychiatric conditions, and it happens with pills that treat psychiatric conditions. Nobody would suggest that somebody with hypothyroidism, for example, is looking for Synthroid to solve their life problems, even though taking that particular pill can enable those with hypothyroidism to better respond to the problems in their lives. Yet if somebody takes an antidepressant for clinical depression, the suggestion that the individual with clinical depression is seeking a pill to solve his or her life problems does get suggested. I know that there are different reasons for this, some of which I feel are more justified than others. Depression can sometimes at least in part involve a reaction to distressing or disturbing events, and so life events do seem to be more likely to play a role in the etiology of depression than they do in the etiology of a non-psychiatric condition like hypothyroidism, but I don't think that this is always the case. Furthermore, if distressing or disturbing events can lead to long-standing changes in a person's biology (and I think that there's evidence that they can), then treating the biological disturbances is something that I think should be done even if they were caused by something situational. This is something that I think is far different from taking a pill in the hopes that one's problems will be solved.
So, in short, I would say that I think most people know the difference between what a pill can do and what a pill can't do. A lot of people with psychiatric illnesses have a lot of problems with their lives, which I think can create the misperception that those with psychiatric illnesses are really taking their pills as a means to try to solve their life problems. And as I've stated, feeling less impaired as a result of taking a pill for a psychiatric condition can make tackling one's problems more achievable, just as it can if one takes a pill for a non-psychiatric condition. However, I think that the notion that most with psychiatric illnesses are turning to pills to fix their life problems is just that: a misperception.
T.
Posted by Zyprexa on May 6, 2013, at 16:43:01
In reply to Life Problems Meds Don't Fix But Do They Help, posted by Phillipa on May 6, 2013, at 11:51:18
There are some things you just can't talk out.
Posted by Topdog on May 7, 2013, at 9:04:31
In reply to Re: Life Problems Meds Don't Fix But Do They Help, posted by Tomatheus on May 6, 2013, at 15:20:43
Well said Tomatheus!
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.